Love Crazy

"Love Crazy" is a rather uneven comedy starring that wonderful team of Myrna Loy and William Powell, along with Jack Carson and Florence Bates. The film starts out one way - a madly in love couple celebrating their fourth anniversary - and then goes another - divorce court.

When Stephen Ireland (Powell) runs into an old girlfriend (Gail Patrick) living in his building, the fun begins. They spend the evening talking, but due to a variety of circumstances, Susan (Loy) doesn't believe his story and decides to file for divorce immediately. Stephen does everything he can to get his wife back, but as the divorce becomes close to being finalized, he feigns insanity to buy more time.

Powell is great at slapstick, of course, and there's plenty of it as he slips on the rug his mother-in-law (Bates) gave them and swings upside down from trees. The extra little kick here comes from his scenes in drag, which are phenomenal. Powell is perfect as his own sister and even shaved his trademark mustache! One of the funniest scenes occurs when a thread from his fake breast gets caught on the spindle of the record player and unravels.

There's little to be said about Powell and Loy - they are always a delight. Jack Carson has a great role as a neighbor interested in Loy. "Willoughby, Ward Willoughby," is how he introduces himself. He's wonderful. Florence Bates is appropriately annoying. Gail Patrick, with her good looks and magnificent voice, has a part that actually disappears for a good deal of the film, but returns later. She's excellent. But Powell in drag is a revelation and the best thing about the film for me.

I read recently with interest that Don Adams' voice in "Get Smart" was actually modeled on Powell's speaking patterns and pitch. Of course, during this film, I couldn't stop thinking about it and realizing the similarity. Don Adams couldn't have chosen a better model.

I'll start by saying seeing William Powell in drag is probably worth the price of admission on its own. Early on, you also have his playful repartee with Myrna Loy, in this the 10th of the 14 movies they made together. In 'Love Crazy', the happily married couple is about to celebrate its 4th anniversary, but get interrupted first by her mother-in-law (Florence Bates), and then by his old flame (Gail Patrick). In a comedy of errors, Loy thinks Powell has cheated on her, seeks a divorce, and then Powell attempts to postpone the proceedings by feigning insanity. It's fun to see Powell in various screwball moments, including getting his head stuck between elevator doors, pretending he's a teapot, and doing things like shoving round blocks into his mouth. Powell had tremendous range and carries the movie; Loy isn't bad herself, but has less to work with. The movie degenerates a bit towards the end, but it was reasonably engaging and fun to watch.

As a big fan of The Thin Man movies, I really wanted to see this film because of William Powell and Myrna Loy. I'm so glad I did because it was fantastic! It does fit the genre of screwball comedies of that time period without any alteration, so you may find yourself picking up on the rhythm of the script and predicting lines, as I did. The supporting cast is great, but what is surprising is that in this film, it almost feels like Myrna Loy is included in that group. William Powell took every scene he was in and carried it right away. He was droll and a little weird, but he still remained a believable character. There were some moments when I cringed, I'll only mention Abraham Lincoln if you haven't seen this movie, but they did not detract from me rolling around on the floor in laughter. I suppose I must mention Powell in drag, which is ridiculously funny and countered extremely well by Loy. She did her best work in her scenes with Powell just by playing along or completely denying any of his efforts to seem insane. Although they both get top billing, this is William Powell's film. He was hilarious and honest and I can't believe this film isn't more talked about!

There are genuinely funny moments in this film; I didn't want to take my eyes off Powell and Loy for a second during the first half. The last act, however, really gets ridiculous with the psychiatrists' examination of Powell. It may have been inane just for laughs, but it seemed to escape me. Besides that, all the misunderstandings between characters, and especially the elevator scene, are prime examples of comedy that will be hard to top. It's hard to find that excellent Powell/Loy chemistry anywhere else, though their other films are of higher quality.

Although two of the "Thin Man" films, and "I Love You Again" usually have their fans as the best Powell-Loy romp, this one is in that select bunch. Powell never did another film with a drag scene in it - and what a scene (his fake breast slowly collapses when it is snared on a record player). The scenes with psychiatrists Vladimir Sokoloff and Sig Ruman are funny too, as are the various confrontations with mother-in-law Florence Bates (notice that business about the unwanted rug she gave them), and ...best of all... the other man in the plot - Jack Carson who is always ready to explain he is Ward Willoughby (one wonders if Rod Sterling watched this and Willoughby's eventual fate, when he created the "Twilight Zone" episode about the town of that name). I found this an absolute scream, and recommend it highly.